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Luskan -> (8/21/2003 10:47:57 PM)
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Resounding success with this turn!
To begin with, one of my subs sights enemy transports at Buna. This was expected, since Raver kicked me off PM, PNG has become a supply problem for him. Not only does he need to pull his tired troops out (and leave as small a garrison with as many CD and AA guns as possible) he also needs to ship the odd engineer unit/base force in, as well as mountains of supply to keep the overland supply route working. At Lae that is an immense amount of supply (especially if he is going to build Lae up to house bombers and fighters just out of MRB range like I should have) required to supply PM. If he has 100k supply at lae, buna and dobadura - basically even with all my bombing efforts PM won't be out of supplies for about 3 or 4 months (plenty of time to sneak more in).
So Raver's transports were expected - and my sub was waiting for them. Brilliant. What I didn't expect was my relatively low experience, fairly low morale and high fatigue mitchells and hudsons at cooktown (which with their shorter range marauder cousins have kept an average of 60 medium bombers over PM every turn for 10 or 11 turns (no thunderstorms to rest through just yet), managed to launch at Lae, and come up wtih some results. I doubt if any of the transports will sink - maybe one - and IJN transports repair so fast at Truk or Rabaul that they can knock off 30 sys a month almost, so it only inconveniences Raver at best, however it means that he'll have to delay his next supply convoy until after some base forces and zeros have been shipped into dobadura/buna or more likely Lae.
To compound this surprising success at this early stage (moving SWPAC to Cooktown really makes a difference to the allied bombing effort - just like moving SOPAC to Luganville!) Operation Lizard has begun without flaw or interference from Raver. Yank force (larger and badder than ever wiht lots of new reinforcements that are using this as a shake down cruise), Brute Force (designated name for my CV task force), and many transports have arrived at Gavigamana and thousands upon thousands of allied troops are pouring ashore with enough supplies to last them until the end of the war. Mine layers have completed the defensive minefield around Gavigamana, and Lots of aircraft are at Luganville waiting for Raver to show. Unlikely, but we can hope.
If I had to guess, I'd say Raver's only got transports inbound for Nevea for a bigger build up prior to an attempt at Luganville (good luck!). Without winning some sort of major battle against Brute Force and Yank Force, the troops on Luganville are in no danger (not to mention the fact that I've packed plenty of troops in there for just such an autovictory attempt.
Don't have enough fighters there to really dent Raver's CV air arm if it comes to play, but that will improve with time. Plenty of bombers at Koumac, Efate etc. to offset things.
Within two to three turns Operation Political Correctness will be given the official go ahead or be canned.
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